Garu's New Job
by shadow talon girl
Summary: What would it be like if Garu had to work for Tobe for an entire week?
1. Day 1: Housecleaning

**Hello readers! Oha-lucky! X3 I'm your navigator, shadow talon girl, here to bring you a super-special fanfiction I like to call… Garu's New Job! But you already knew **_**that **_**just by reading the title. ;)**

**In case I have any new readers, thanks so much for deciding to read my story! And thanks to all my wonderful readers who have stuck with me since the beginning.**

**I don't really think I need to explain this fanfiction… It's a spinoff from one of my other stories, but don't worry; you don't have to read that one just to read this. Still, I might end up incorporating some inside jokes from the other one as a treat for my loyal readers. :) You probably know the plot from the description, so other than that, I'm not going to spoil anything for you. Oh, and that has nothing to do with the fact that I have no idea what the whole plot is going to be. Of course I had the foresight to plan it! (As far as you know.)**

**Well, I don't want to keep you waiting for any longer! I'll stop the author's note right after this…**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Pucca or any of the characters in the show; they are copyright of VOOZ. I do own all original characters, plot, and character development not provided from the series. These will all be right to me as they appear.**

**Okay, now that that's out of the way, let's get on with the show. Happy reading!**

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><p>April 12th<p>

Today I started a new job. As one of Tobe's minions.

Yeah, I know what you're thinking. I only agreed to that deal in the first place if Tobe could get Shaman to help me with… well, you remember. Maybe he did nothing on purpose and hoped I wouldn't notice. Or maybe he really was that incompetent. In any case, seeing as my house was still haunted afterwards, _technically,_ I owed him nothing.

So why am I doing this? Well, I could always use a little extra training, and Tobe provides just the sort of exercise I love: ridiculous and unexpected obstacles to keep me on my toes.

Plus, we were friends once, and I felt sort of sorry for him. I'm not sure if I really owed him anything, but I _felt_ like I did.

Well, this morning at eight o'clock sharp, I knocked on his door, wearing the black ninja suit he had provided. For a couple of minutes, no one answered. I heard hectic shuffling behind the door, and I thought I heard something break. Just as I was about to let myself in, Tobe cracked the door open and slipped out, slamming it before I could get a look inside.

"Welcome, Garu," he said, "to your worst… Hey!" Suddenly he was staring angrily at me. "Did I forget to tell you to come in _full_ uniform?"

I started, quickly checking the pockets of the suit until I found a matching black mask with a gray (or grey?) headband. I slipped them both on as fast as I could.

Tobe growled quietly, but continued. "Much better. Now, I welcome you to your weeklong nightmare… of servitude," he finished dramatically. Finally, he opened the door.

It was a horrible mess inside. Frankly, I hadn't expected it to be any less; I knew Tobe, eager to get the most of this, would leave it dirty just for me. There were muddy tracks on the floor and stains on the walls, piles of dirty black suits lay strewn about, shuriken jutted out from the wall and even on the ceiling.

As I walked in, I saw five other ninjas who turned to stare at me. "Master," one of them said, "is that… Garu?"

"Hey, you're right!" another announced. "He's trying to disguise himself! Ninjas, att-"

"NO!" Tobe interrupted. He took a star from his pocket and threw it at the offender. It missed, however, and simply hit the wall behind him. Tobe was unabashed, and continued: "Okay, who neglected to tell him that Garu was going to be working for me now?"

None of the ninjas answered, but the second ninja spoke again. "Wait a minute, Garu's on our side now? That's so _cool!_" he practically squealed. The other ninjas groaned.

Tobe smiled proudly, neglecting to tell him that I'd only be working for him for a week. "Well, yes, I know. But your leader has his ways," he said coolly. "Now, everyone clear out to the shed and get to work building." He didn't have to say what it was before all the others filed out the back door.

I glared at him. It was a little early to be working on another "vengeance" project.

"Oh, relax," said Tobe. "We're just fixing up the shed out back. Now, on to your assignment. I want you to sweep the floor until it's clean…" We both paused and looked down at what I had always thought was a packed-dirt floor. "I think there's wood under there somewhere… Anyway, then you need to gather up all the weapons and put them back on their rack," he continued, pointing at the empty rack by his bed. "My ninjas and I will be back in by noon for some refreshments. I'm assuming you know how to make... chocolate-chip cookies?"

I chortled and almost laughed, but I immediately covered my mouth when Tobe's eyes narrowed. I nodded, although it wasn't completely true; I usually read the instructions on the chocolate chip pack.

"Well, I look forward to seeing your progress by then! See you at noon." Grinning cockily behind his mask, Tobe ran off and out the back door.

Not wanting to risk what might happen if I started slacking, I got straight to work. I tried sweeping the floor for a good half hour before I realized the dirt wasn't going anywhere. I sat down in one of the hammocks, trying to think how I was going to do this. Then I saw a sword lying on the floor, and an idea hit me!

I took the sword and jabbed it into the hard dirt. After pushing it for a little way, I finally hit something harder. I tilted the blade and cut a small, lopsided circle in the ground, then scooped it out. There is was: a filthy wooden floor, buried beneath at least two inches of dirt.

I sighed. This was going to be a long day.

I set to work with the sword, cutting out chunks of the dirt and tossing them out the front door. Occasionally, I would have to move furniture, such as the stove or a punching bag, or toss clothes aside, so I could get the areas underneath them. On the other hand, some fixtures, such as the fridge or the sink, were already buried, and those I had to dig out. The process was exhausting, and by the time I was done, a small hill had formed on Tobe's lawn, and the sword was completely blunt. But it had worked. The floor was still dirty, but at least it was visible.

I then started working on the next task, cleaning up weapons. I had a hard time pulling some of the shuriken out of the wall, but eventually they were all back on their hooks and the swords on their racks. Well, except for one sword. I ran out front and thrust the sword I had used into the pile of dirt, knowing there were so many others that it wouldn't be missed.

Finally, I went over to a small area set aside as the kitchen for my last job: making cookies. I spent at least ten minutes searching through the cabinets to find all the ingredients and tools I would need. Before I started, I thought of how many I would need to make; since Tobe had five other ninjas at the time, I'd only make half of the recipe, leaving two for each. (At the last moment, I'd remembered that I counted as one of his ninjas now, so I added just enough extra for 14 cookies) Then, seeing as I only had a half hour before Tobe and the others came in, I got straight to baking. (I had no idea how silly that sounded until I actually wrote it down…)

Anyway, since I hadn't gotten any sleep the night before, I went to the closest hammock to rest for ten minutes. I figured the kitchen timer would wake me up. Well, it did, but not how I would have expected.

I heard the "ding" of the timer, and I reluctantly started to get up, when I heard a second ding follow. Then another, and another, rapidly increasing in frequency like a ticking time bomb. I hastily jumped up just as the beeping stopped and the oven door flew open, spouting cookies in every direction! I rushed to the table for the tray, and then ran after the cookies. I had to jump off walls, bounce on hammocks, and run along the banister at the top floor, but I managed to save almost all of them. One, however, managed to somehow get stuck between two beams on the ceiling, next to a couple throwing stars I hadn't noticed.

I decided it was too much trouble to jump off the top floor for a cookie, so I just left it there. I would just have to get one less.

I climbed down to the bottom floor, set the tray of steaming cookies on a table, and was about to lay back down, when I heard the door open.

Tobe had been whispering to the other ninjas, but he stopped as he nearly tripped on the threshold. Apparently, the floor was lower down than he was used to. When he managed to steady himself, he could only stare. His ninjas, ever obedient, did the same.

Finally, one of them spoke up. "Master Tobe… we have a FLOOR?"

A couple of the others started laughing, and one punched him lightly on the shoulder. Tobe walked in, still looking around in wonder. Then he glared at the others and they stopped laughing immediately.

"Why can't YOU guys be this good at cleaning?"

The ninjas looked around sheepishly, muttering, "We're sorry, sir," or "We'll work on it."

Tobe lead them (or "us", I guess) to the kitchen, where we each picked out our cookies. A couple of the ninjas complimented me on how well cooked they were.

"So, Garu," Tobe said after finishing his first cookie, "how'd you like my little surprise?"

I stared at him, taking another bite of mine. Then I remembered the oven, and I groaned.

Tobe chuckled. "Exactly what I was hoping you'd say."

"If you want to be able to cook," a deep-voiced ninja advised, "get used to it. We rigged it to do that a long time ago as a training exercise, but we never figured out how to un-rig it."

"On the bright side," another said, "at least we don't feel guilty about eating snacks, 'cause we get to burn calories right before we eat!" We all nodded in agreement.

The rest of the day, I'm afraid to say, was pretty boring. I spent the majority of it sweeping the excess dirt from the floorboards, while the others helped by scrubbing the walls. When all the day's work was done, we ordered noodles for dinner. Thankfully, I didn't have to answer the door; I can't tell how Pucca would react if she saw me like this.

I ended up getting the highest hammock on the left row. Figures; if I'd tried to write inside, everyone would be able to see me. I decided to wait for them all to fall asleep, then I came out to the front porch to write today's jour~-…

Sorry about that. Tobe had snuck up on me and told me to wrap it up. He's glaring at me as I write this, so I figure I should stop for the night. Plus, my back is still sore from digging out all that dirt with just a sword.

…Uh oh, he saw that… Gotta go!

Garu

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><p><strong>YAAAAAYY! I kept my promise and updated today! Now I only have to do that six more times! :P<strong>

**So, how'd you all like it? I'd love to hear what you think, so REVIEW! Praise me, criticize me, whatever you decide to do, all feedback is welcome and loved. I'd also like to know your favorite parts (and if you have any ideas, please, PLEASE let me know).**

**OMG! I just now noticed that this story is set on April 12****th****, and today is MARCH 12****th****! Now I have NO EXCUSE for missing a day!**

**Okay, whatever, I'll stop rambling. I really enjoyed writing this first chapter, and I hope you loved reading it just as much. :) I have to go now, but I'll see you tomorrow!**

**Bye-ni! (No, I haven't been watching too much Lucky Star; why do you ask?)**


	2. Day 2: Adjusting

**Hello again! I just wanted to say a quick hi, and a thank you to the two readers who reviewed yesterday: my sissy and garu0212. For some reason, having a Spanish reader makes me feel like this story is that much more special! :) (Or am I just a nerd?)**

**Whatever, on to the chapter!**

…

**Ugh! Come on, stupid story, write yourself! XP**

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><p>April 13th<p>

I'm glad I finally got my journal back. Tobe realized how important it is for me to write in here, so he decided to keep it as incentive for me to work well. Thankfully, he did give it back so that I could write tonight. But last night, when he found out about that sword I ruined when I was cleaning, he was determined to make me pay for it the next day.

He woke everyone up at seven in the morning. Apparently, he'd brought in a giant gong from out back and banged it as hard as he could. I was so startled when I awoke that I nearly fell out of my hammock. The other ninjas, however, were much less shaken by Tobe's wake-up call, and jumped down to the floor, lined up and bowed to him. I leapt down too after a moment, earning brief stares from everyone as I stumbled down from the top bunk.

"Okay everyone," he began as I found my place in the row of ninjas surrounding him, "now that we got all the cleaning done yesterday, the real fun can begin."

"Alright!" said the ninja next to me, jumping up excitedly. Another sighed and shook his head.

Then I noticed something that startled me: all of us, even the other ninjas, had their masks off. And underneath them, they were all completely _different._ The one beside me, for example, had short blond hair in the same style as Dada's, but a much more Asian face. Another had short ponytail and large light brown eyes, and another actually had long, dark blue hair that framed his angled face.

This surprised me; I had been fighting these ninjas for so long, but I never imagined what they would _be _like. I guess I just assumed that they were all clones or something. But now that I had a chance to meet them, they all had different faces, and different personalities.

I had to snap myself out of my reverie because I noticed Tobe had been talking the whole time. I looked around nervously, hoping I didn't miss anything important.

It turned out Tobe was just giving assignments out to the others. And to add to the theatricality, he'd saved mine for last.

"As for you, Garu," he said, "you remember that we're in need of a new sword, right?"

I groaned softly and nodded. Why was he making such a big deal out of it?

"Well, the one you ruined just happened to be one of my dueling swords."

Oh.

"So, today, you're going into town to get me a new one. And since you're new to this, let me clarify, I don't mean _buy _one." He smirked at my widened eyes. "Try to find one that matches this one!" The underlines are because as he said that, he grabbed his other sword from a rack on the wall and threw it at me.

It missed miserably and flew out the open front door.

I raised an eyebrow at him, and he just growled. "Well, what are you all still standing here for? Get going!" he yelled. The others obeyed, pulling on their masks and rushing out the door.

I slipped mine on and ran after them, picking up the sword as I started into town. However, I felt a light tap on my shoulder. I whirled around to face one of the ninjas. The excitable blond one, I noticed.

He looked kind of nervous, but he kept his voice steady. "Um, I just wanted to say that… well, I'm glad you'll be working with us for now. It's an honor to have such a great fighter on our team." He sighed. "Even if there's no one to fight with you here."

I chuckled once. I never imagined I'd hear one of Tobe's ninjas talk to me, unless you count screaming curses and vows to destroy me.

"I'm Quan, by the way." His eyes were smiling.

I smiled back. _Nice to meet you, _I thought.

We walked together up until we reached the market. He told me not to worry about shoplifting, that he had been nervous the first time Tobe made him. But he said it wasn't technically _you _stealing if someone else orders you to. Of course I don't agree with him, but it was very nice of him to try and console me. When we came to town, we both went our separate ways.

I travelled mostly in alleys, or anywhere I could hide. I didn't want to be seen out in daylight with the uniform, even though I assumed they wouldn't know it was me underneath. Sooner or later, I reached the market, a long stretch of paths lined with tents and stores on every side. (You probably remember it as the place where I got "married".) It was crowded, so I slipped easily into the streets, unnoticed.

I looked around for a cart or something selling swords, glancing down at the sword sheathed by my side to remind myself what I was looking for. After a while, I found one that looked exactly like it… unfortunately, it seemed to be the main attraction at one stand, for it was displayed on the back wall above all the other weapons. What was worse, there seemed to be only one of them.

I gritted my teeth in frustration, but still wove my way over to the cart, slipping around behind it. After calming myself down with a few deep breaths, I peered around the corner, reaching out for the sword-

"Garu, what are you doing back there?"

I froze, turning to see who had spoken. So Chang was the owner of the stand… but how did he know it was me?

That's when I saw my reflection in a shiny shield up front. My pigtails stuck out! When I'd put on the mask before, I hadn't noticed it had two holes cut out in the top for them!

Chang still stared suspiciously. "Why are you wearing a mask?"

I had no idea what to do. There was no time for me to think. So, I didn't. I put my hands together in a quick, apologetic bow, then snatched the sword and ran away as fast as I could. But Chang, though startled, ran after me.

"Garu! What is the meaning of this? Get back here this instant!" He screamed this, and more, as he chased me through the streets. It seemed he was determined to let the whole village know who I was.

I was nearing drastic measures, but just as I was considering turning to fight Chang, several black streaks dashed at him. The other ninjas must have been watching. One of them came up to me. "We've got you covered, Garu. Keep running!"

I nodded, and took off again.

About a half hour later, everyone was back at Tobe's, done with their missions. If that's what you want to call them. Two of the ninjas were carrying grocery bags, and the other three (the ones that had helped me out) had DVD boxes. I really hope our assignments aren't like that every day.

Tobe was resting in a hammock, waiting for us. I noticed fleetingly that the house smelled faintly burnt, and wondered what he'd done. When he saw we were back, he jumped up and inspected each of our prizes. When he came to me, I held out the two swords in one hand. He stared at me for a moment, eyebrow raised. I put a hand on my hip, my gaze hopefully saying "what are you waiting for?"

"Pssst!" whispered Quan from beside me. I turned to him questioningly. "You're supposed to bow, remember?"

_Oh, you've got to be kidding me, _I thought. Tobe was probably smirking behind his mask. I dropped my eyelids in a bored stare and bowed my head in the most sarcastic way I could. Surprisingly, Tobe simply laughed and took the swords anyway.

"He'll get over it," a deep-voiced ninja sighed. I'm pretty sure he was the one with blue hair.

To reward us for doing such a good job, Tobe had made pudding while we were gone. Or at least, he attempted to. I have no idea how he managed to mess it up so much when the instructions were right on the packet. I guess he thought that you had to boil it while it cooked, and that didn't turn out very well. We ended up skipping that and going outside for sword practice.

...I'm not sure if he'd just forgotten to change it, or if he left it there on purpose. Either way, I ended up practicing on a dummy... of myself. I kept getting awkward looks from the others, who had identical dummies. Since I was the best swordfighter, mine ended up in the worst shape.

…I have nothing else to say about that.

For dinner, Tobe announced that instead of takeout, he'd be taking us to the Goh Rong for dinner. The others cheered like eating out was such a treat. I just gaped at him, my open mouth luckily hidden by the mask. Was he just trying to torture me?

His sneer in response to my expression seemed to answer that question.

I knew if I went into the restaurant with my hair like this, Pucca would easily recognize me (plus I'd be in deep trouble with Chang if he was there). So I had three options: 1) Go in normally without caring who saw me (yeah, right); 2) Get a different mask and wear it over my pigtails, which would probably pull my hair; or 3) Wear my hair down. I picked number 3.

The way over to the restaurant went normally. When we arrived, Tobe stood outside the door for a few minutes, digging around in his pockets until he pulled out a miniature smoke bomb. He cracked open the door, threw it inside, and we all ran into the smoke. As if I hadn't been embarrassed enough that day, I got into a coughing fit as soon as it cleared. Tobe glared hard enough that I swear if I'd have moved, he would've drilled holes in the door behind me.

He cleared his throat to direct everyone's stares to him instead. "We demand the evening special!" he announced. The others looked away and went back to eating.

Dada hurried over to us, carrying a precarious stack of plates. "Of course, sir. Follow me to-whoa!" He started to lead us to a table, but as the dishes tipped the other way, he had to run to keep them up. Eventually, he came to a different table, near the kitchen. "I… guess you'll be sitting here. Heheh…" he laughed nervously. I rolled my eyes and sat down with the others.

Oddly, nothing else bad happened at the restaurant. Ching and Pucca were both sitting a few tables away. Ching had pointed me out to her once, saying, "He's cute, huh, Pucca?" Pucca looked at me for a while, then shook her head. I chortled and had to bite my tongue to kepp from bursting out laughing.

When we got back, everyone was tired and eager to get to sleep. Even I was, but, as always, I still managed to find some time to write. Sorry if it seems shorter than usual.

I hope Tobe lets me keep my journal and doesn't take it up again tomorrow.

…I'm too tired to know what else to write. Bye for now.

Garu

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><p><strong>Wow, that took WAY too long to write. I wish I knew a trick to writing faster.<strong>

**Please let me know what you thought of this chapter in reviews! I kinda hate how it cuts off at the end, but I was a little pressed for time. I look forward to each and every review I get, so go ahead and tell me what YOU think! :)**

…**That's pretty much it. I can't think of anything else to say. :P Well, I think I'm gonna go now, so bye!**

**(PS: This is already getting to be a lot of work. I have a feeling, for both Garu and me, it's gonna be a loooong week…)**


	3. Day 3: Spies

**Hmmm, hmm hm hmmm… Party rockers in the house tonight! Everybody, just have a good time! And we gon- Oh, hi! I, uh, didn't see you there. Hehehe…**

**Okay, sorry if you all hate me for getting that song stuck in your head, but it's been in mine for days and I can't completely get it out! Hey, at least I updated today! But was there really ever any doubt?**

**Readers: YES.**

**Me: Oh, just shut up and read!**

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><p>April 14th<p>

I woke up to the gong again today. Apparently, Tobe uses that every day like an alarm clock. I guess I'm gonna have to get used to it.

It was a gloomy day; thick clouds and a light rain. Despite this, Tobe looked excited this morning when we all lined up, surrounding him. "Good news, boys," he began. "Today, you'll be getting a very special assignment. How many of you are fans of the Japanese martial artist known as 'Akihiro'?"

There were several enthusiastic nods around the room, including myself. I think I've mentioned him in this journal before, how I was obsessed with Akihiro when I was little, just starting my new life as a ninja.

"Well," continued Tobe, "while you guys were out yesterday, I happened to stop by the Turtle Training Hall, and guess who'll be showing up there for a special demonstration?"

I smiled widely, and everyone else did the same. "Wow, really?" Quan said excitedly. "But wait… weren't you banned from there?"

"I suppose I was… which is why I'm sending you…" he paused dramatically, and then added, "on a secret mission!"

"Whoa, we get to be _spies?_" exclaimed a ninja with spiked, flaming red hair. "That is so COOL!" The last part, he shouted so loud, even I had to cover my ears.

"You know," the blue-haired ninja pointed out, "spies are usually supposed to be stealthy. Is Daero really _allowed _to come?"

A couple ninjas snickered, and Daero, after punching him, muttered "Shut up, Jin."

_So that's two more names I've learned, _I thought. In retrospect, I notice now that Tobe never seems to call them by their first names, addressing them simply by pointing them out. Maybe he never bothered to learn them, being their "master" and all.

Anyway, Tobe went on with our mission briefing. "You must sneak into the training hall, watch the demonstrations, and write down notes for me." He started handing out miniature notebooks and pens for everyone. "Include any unique moves or words of wisdom from Akihiro. With all of you taking notes, I'm sure I'll get several different perspectives.

"Oh, and one last thing: make sure _nobody _sees you." He paused to search though his pockets. "In the unlikely event that any of you are captured, you are to eat one of these." At this, he held up a small, clear tablet, stuffed with dangerous-looking orange herbs. _He wants us to poison ourselves?_

"Excuse me, master, but… what are those?" asked Quan.

"It's orange-flavored candy," Jin said flatly.

"Oooh! Orange is my favorite! Can I eat it now, please?"

Me, Tobe, and Jin all simultaneously face-palmed. "Okay, forget the tablets," Tobe sighed. "Just… don't get caught."

"Yes, master!" said everyone, bowing in unison.

Well, everyone _else. _They all turned to stare at me. Again. I sighed, mumbled "Uh-huh," and bowed slightly.

Tobe rolled his eyes. "Close enough. Now, the class starts in less than twenty minutes, so GET GOING!" We all nodded and ran out the door.

I don't really feel like rewriting _everything_ that happened at the training hall. I found some tape lying around, so I'll be cutting and pasting parts of my notes, along with writing some of the things that I didn't write down.

**Mission Log, April 14****th**

**7:48  
>Arrived at Turtle Training Hall. A crowd of students is gathered outside in the rain, waiting for Akihiro to arrive. We are currently watching from behind a wall, keeping our notes dry beneath a large tree.<strong>

**7:57  
>Akihiro arrives. He was apparently travelling in the treetops, jumping from branch to branch. (I wonder why he didn't see us.) Chang ushers the lot of them indoors, for class is about to begin. He locks the doors behind him.<strong>

"Great," hissed one of the ninjas. "Now how are we going to get inside?"

"Maybe Garu can help!" Daero suggested loudly, and we all had to shush him again.

"He does have a point," Quan pointed out. "Garu, you go have classes there; are there any other entrances?"

I thought about it for a while. _Well… the classroom does have an air vent…_

**8:05  
>We're in. Currently hiding in the air vent, watching from above. Nothing to report on the class yet.<strong>

I remember thinking about writing: _Although, our mission may be in jeopardy; sound echoes excessively in here, and some of the ninjas are having trouble keeping their mouths shut. _I managed to avoid the temptation.

**8:15  
>The class is doing a kata they learned yesterday, probably as a memory refresher. It's short, so I'll go ahead and write it down:<br>Step North with right leg; punch right  
>Side kick with left<br>Turn West and punch left  
>Round kick with right, turning East<br>Step back once with right; block left  
>Rounding punch with right<br>End facing North**

After I finished writing, one of the ninjas (whose name I haven't learned yet) looked over them and gave me the weirdest look. "What does that even _say?" _He whispered.

I guess Tobe had never bothered to teach his ninjas katas. It was sort of sad; katas were like the rhymes you learn as a child, except they teach martial arts routines instead of spelling or such. (I didn't know how lame of a simile that was until I actually read it; sorry about that.)

**8:30  
>Practice is done. Akihiro steps up in front of the class, giving a short lecture. He talks about how fighting styles differ for everyone. He also gives some noteworthy advice.<br>"I'll let you in on a little secret: my style relies on my defense being sturdy and unmovable, but attack being flexible. That may just be on example, but it carries a very important point. Attack and defense are opposites; yin and yang. But to have an effective fighting style, their techniques must be balanced as well."**

That's all I wrote, but he went on to explain several other possible techniques (one other unusual one was using grabs for defense, and throws for attack), as well as asking some of the students theirs. I remember Abyo saying that he usually relied on leaping attacks, and wondering what the opposite of that was, because he didn't really have a set defense tactic. Interestingly, Akihiro suggested trying to trip his opponents to defend himself. Since, whenever we spar, I usually stick to the ground, I decided I'd have to watch out for that.

**8:37  
>After his instruction, the students begin practicing his suggested tactics on each other. Occasionally, he will see one who is doing particularly well and challenge them himself.<strong>

Ssoso got picked once. Abyo was jealous.

**9:04  
>They have all practiced for about a half hour and are taking a break for meditation. Akihiro unknowingly levitates when he does; I've been told I do the same.<strong>

**9:20  
>They all take a short water break. Akihiro goes outside. "The most refreshing water is just outside our door," he says, referring to the rain. Everyone rushes outside after him.<strong>

**9:30  
>Everyone's back in, now doing more regular routines.<strong>

Abyo spoke up after a few minutes, asking him when he was going to show them some of his "fancy Japanese ninja moves". He smiled, and said he had just the move for him. He asked Abyo if he'd like to help him demonstrate. I could tell from his mischievous smile that he shouldn't have said yes.

**9:42  
>Akihiro calls a student, Abyo, up to the front of the class. He asks him he's ever heard of a technique called "ninja vanish". Akihiro demonstrates the technique, also using it as an opportunity to humiliate Abyo. (Can provide more details if you need them)<strong>

Needless to say, I left a lot of details out there. To tell the truth, I'd rather Tobe NOT figure out that technique. I hope he doesn't find out…

But I might as well add an explanation here. He closed his eyes, focusing intensely. Then muttered something in Japanese (probably the translation of "ninja vanish") and did a back flip. As he did, he seemed to disappear with every tiny shift of position, and when he landed, he was gone completely.

He had been standing behind Abyo, so he didn't see him disappear. He looked around for a while. "Uh, Akihiro, sir? Er, sensei? Where did-?" He didn't get a chance to finish, because Akihiro, appearing once again, rushed up behind him and kicked him across the room. He hit the gong, which rang out loudly, and Abyo stumbled away from it, vibrating with every step. Everyone down below was laughing so loudly, they didn't hear us cracking up in the air vent.

**About 10:00  
>Chang announces that there are two hours left in class. By now, the class is begging to learn the "ninja vanish", but Akihiro shakes his head, saying they'll learn someday.<strong>

**10:15  
>Fifteen more minutes of practice; nothing to report.<strong>

**10:30  
>See above.<strong>

**10:34  
>Chang decides to spice up today's practice a little. He goes to a nearby supply closet and gets a handful of bo staffs, one for every student, and him and Akihiro.<strong>

**10:39  
>Akihiro demonstrates a cool move with his staff. Using a punching bag for an example, he shows the students how to pole-vault over an enemy, then twirl the staff around in the air and hit them in the back.<strong>

The technique seemed easy enough. I decided I'd try it out later, if Tobe would allow me.

**10:46  
>Many other students try the technique, and a few manage to get it right once or twice.<strong>

Even Abyo managed it without messing up.

**10:59  
>About an hour left. Everyone is wondering what to do to make the most of it.<strong>

**11:02  
>Akihiro jumps in with an unexpected suggestion. "You all must have learned a lot today, right? You learned new techniques, and ways to perfect your old ones. So let's put all those to the test!" Chang, picking up on his idea, goes to the closet and gets out the padded sparring gloves we always use.<strong>

**11:05  
>A free-for-all spar breaks out. Even Chang and the master himself join. There are no sides, no time limit (except the end of class), and no points. All I can say is, it's crazy around here.<strong>

"Boy, that looks fun, right Garu?"

I nodded enthusiastically. Chang hadn't allowed a spar like this in a long while… unfortunately, I had no way of knowing how long it would be until the next one.

"Hey, maybe WE-" Daero began, but then he remembered that he was supposed to keep quiet. He lowered his voice to a whisper. "Maybe _we _should join in! What do you think?"

Jin glared at him. "Brilliant idea, Daero. Sure, it looks like fun _now, _but what about when we jump down there and let them know we've been spying on them? Will it still be this fun when they're all attacking _you?_"

Daero gulped and, oddly enough, was quiet the rest of the time.

**11:30  
>The spar is still going on. I can barely believe how long this has lasted. Since there are no points, no one can get out. Also, thanks to the gloves, there have been no injuries, so everyone is free to continue fighting. Until they're worn out…<strong>

**11:46  
>Like I thought, everyone is exhausted. They decide to take a break and wait for class to let out. Everyone goes back to asking Akihiro questions.<strong>

**12:00  
>Chang rings the gong to signal that class is over. It echoes a LOT in here; we all had to cover our ears, and we missed Akihiro's parting words to the students. Personally, I don't even think <strong>_**they **_**heard it.**

Well, that's about it. When we got back, Tobe read each of our notes, while the ninjas played (of all things) jacks. I tried out that staff technique… trust me, it was not as easy as he made it look. Don't try it at home. After he was done reading and he'd asked us all his extra questions, we watched a kung-fu movie starring Akihiro himself. The effects and most of the acting were horrible. The storyline was good, though, and very original.

It's getting late, so I'd better stop now.

Oh! One more thing I forgot to mention before: Tobe, after reading my report, didn't ask about the vanishing technique. Instead, he asked for details about Abyo's humiliation. Everyone was willing to tell the story a dozen times before we finally had to go to bed, practically laughing in our sleep.

Garu

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><p><strong>I think the format for this chapter was kinda weird, but I like it. What do YOU think?<strong>

**Nothing else in the ending note… just review and you'll get a longer one next time. :P**


	4. Day 4: Meet the Ninjas

**I'm baaaack! :D Here to bring you another awesome chapter! Well, I'm not sure if it's gonna be awesome yet, because I haven't started writing yet. :P But who am I kidding? It's ME writing, so it's bound to be awesome. Haha, I'm not really this conceited in real life. But on fanfiction, I can "hop, step jump and/ drew, draw, drawn!/ Chip, syrup, whip!/ Be who I wanna be!" ;)**

**Lol, I'm hyper and I've been watching too much Shugo Chara! Maybe I should go watch Pucca to balance out my fangirlieness (hah, spell checker has NO suggestions for that!)… Okay, I will. Right after this chapter!**

**But first, let me just say that I am SO happy about all the nice reviews I've been getting. I love everyone who reads… well, anything I write, pretty much. But reviewers, especially those who become loyal, will have a special place in my heart (unlock!). :)**

**You may begin reading… now!**

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><p>April 15th<p>

The rain stopped today. It was still cloudy and pretty windy outside, but at least there was no rain.

Not much actually happened today. Since there's not much too tell anyway, I have to write something down so that I won't forget. Tobe's ninjas.

Quan:  
>Short blond hair, dark narrow eyes. Likes the flavor of oranges. Quite friendly and willing to help with anything. Naïve, and not very strong.<p>

Daero:  
>Bright red spiky hair, round brown eyes. Likes reading comics and manga. Strong and fierce in battle. Unpredictable, and has trouble being quiet.<p>

Jin (short for Jinsodo):  
>Long blue hair, narrow gray eyes. Likes peace and quiet, and rainstorms (crazy?). Has a strong will and is exceptionally wise. Very sarcastic and critical of others.<p>

Odomé:  
>Short slick black hair, soft blue eyes. Likes music, especially traditional Japanese. Constantly tests himself and, as a result, is well-balanced in battle. Easily distracted by girls (perhaps the reason he practices so hard).<p>

Kuda:  
>Medium-brown hair in a ponytail, large brown eyes. Likes swords, battle hammers, and pretty much any weapon. Weapons mastery helps him beat any foe he doesn't scare off first. Violent and unreliable; would probably use this journal as blackmail against me.<p>

Now that I've been introduced to all of the ninjas (well, not formally, but I know who they all are and they know me), I felt like I should share that with you. Besides, now that I actually know what they're all like, I'm beginning to realize I've seen them all before. Like, when I think back to one of our previous battles, I'll remember one of the ninjas going berserk on me with a hammer, and now I think "Yep, that's Kuda."

Funny how one's point of view changes so much.

Anyway, enough of that. On to the day's events. (Sorry, I'm using way too many fragment sentences.)

Tobe used the gong to wake us up again. Strangely, I'm starting to get used to it. I kind of hope I don't; otherwise, when I do get to go back, I won't be able to wake up for anything.

Tobe looked sheepish when he spoke. "This is… kind of embarrassing, but I didn't really plan anything today."

"It's sure been less busy around here," Quan mused. "I wonder why…"

Kuda was clearly resisting the urge to punch him, and Jin cut in, saying "Maybe because the one we usually fight is on our team now?"

"Oh, _that's _it! Garu fits in so well here, I didn't notice."

"Are you kidding?" Daero snapped. "He's been messing up the whole time he's been here! Am I right, master?"

Tobe shot him a glare and he calmed down. "Oh, right. I guess he fits right in."

"Anyway," Tobe continued, "since we don't have anything specific to do today, we can just practice fighting for the day."

"Maybe we can work on the techniques we learned from Sensei Akihiro yesterday?" Odomé suggested.

Tobe shrugged. "If you want."

"Can we practice sword techniques, too?" Kuda asked, glancing meaningfully at me. Tobe saw it as well and rolled his eyes.

We ended up practicing our moves for pretty much the whole day. At first, we just stuck with partners. (Either me or Tobe ended up being left out whenever we switched since we were the best fighters.) I remember I felt really bad when I had to fight Quan, and instead, I ended up teaching him.

After about an hour of this system, we got tired of it. One of us, probably Daero, had the idea to have a free-for-all like they did at the training hall the day before. That was when the real fun started.

I know I could probably use this information about their fighting styles against Tobe and his ninjas, but I'm making a pact right now (with you as my witness) that I will never stoop to such a thing.

We didn't have any sparring gloves, so it was more like an all-out brawl than just a spar. Tobe was surprisingly good without his ninjas. I realize I've rarely seen him fight alone, but when he does, he's good. I ended up fighting him several times just to keep him from getting _too _cocky, but we both had a few small victories with one-another. Like me throwing and drop-kicking him like a soccer ball, and him retaliating by using that pole-vault move I could never learn.

I mentioned before that Quan wasn't very strong, but I forgot to say another good thing about him: he's got extremely fast reflexes. I saw him fighting Jin across the room, and thought about surprising him with an attack. I grabbed a shuriken from the wall and threw it at him. But Quan, while he was fighting, managed to catch it and throw it in the other direction without looking away.

Jin has great endurance, and knows how to control it; he managed to keep going at a normal pace for the whole battle, whereas we kept spending all our energy at one time. Daero had that problem a lot, but he made up for it because when he did attack, he was vicious and strong.

Kuda had trouble avoiding the temptation of using weapons. Occasionally, he would pick up his trusty battle hammer and swing away before Tobe stopped him. He got caught in the moment one time and tried to attack Tobe, but he dodged and Kuda ended up smashing a hole in the wall. He was disqualified from the rest of the battle.

Odomé actually reminded me of Abyo. He loved incorporating acrobatics in his attacks, jumping off from walls and grabbing columns to spin himself around. He seemed to like showing off a lot; one time, he jumped off my head and up to the second floor, then dive-bombed Jin when he wasn't expecting. Jin quickly flipped him and ran off.

The brawl lasted well into the afternoon. Tobe had ordered lunch earlier, and when there was a knock on the door, no one was willing to answer.

I felt someone grab my wrists. "Why don't YOU get it?" said Daero, flinging me to the door. I hit the wood with my back, but still decided to get it. I'd just take the food, toss the deliverer one of my coupons, and then get back in the fray.

It didn't occur to me _who _the delivery girl was until after I'd opened the door.

They all stopped fighting. Pucca stared at me with her mouth hanging open. My eyes were wide in surprise. Everyone was so busy watching us, even Daero was silent.

"Ummm…" Pucca managed, still gaping.

"Uh, heh heh…" I replied.

"Awkwaaaard…" whispered Quan unhelpfully.

Tobe cleared his throat, ready to explain everything to Pucca. I gritted my teeth and waved my hands, thinking, _Oh, please don't! _

"Well, Pucca, it's… uh, _good _to see you," Tobe started gauchely. **(Haha, I stole my sissy's word! :P) **"Look, I'm just going to say-"

"GAH! UH-UH!" I shouted desperately. Tobe glared at me and was about to finish, when I swiped the boxes of noodles from Pucca and slammed the door.

I was too embarrassed to go outside, to try to explain it to Pucca, or to rejoin the fight, all the way up until dinnertime. Tobe, in an unexpected moment of kindness, saw how upset I was and offered to make dinner instead of ordering out. We ended up making frozen French fries and fish sticks, but it was still very sweet.

...NEVER tell him I said that.

I just came inside; I was going to write more when it started raining again. Ugh! I hate the weather this time of year.

Well, the other ninjas are all mad at me for bringing the flashlight inside; I have to go. I have no doubt in my mind Pucca's coming back tomorrow. This cannot go over well…

Garu

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><p><strong>Sorry for the short chapter! It's raining SOOO hard over here right now, and I was afraid I wasn't going to get to publish this one! :O But here it is anyway! Every day this week, rain or shine, busy or boring! I hope…<strong>

**But I thought the chapter was good despite shortness. Mostly because of the ninjas. I've always loved Tobe's ninjas, and I enjoyed giving them each unique characters. I'll definitely end up using them in another fanfiction. ;)**

**Pucca IS going to return tomorrow, but I'd love some ideas on what else could happen. :)**

**Now, SCRAM! (and review while you're at it :P)**


	5. Day 5: Shopping

**Oh wow, I can't believe it's already nine thirty! I'll bet you guys didn't think I was gonna update today, did you? Don't fret my readers! Have faith! When I'm this committed to a writing project, NOTHING can keep me from updating!**

**I'll be honest, I had no idea how I was gonna write this chapter. No ideas whatsoever. That's why, when me and my sister went to a mall to search for jobs today, I took along a tape recorder and said some of my ideas. If you're lacking inspiration before a deadline, trust me, it works. :)**

**Enjoy!**

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><p>April 16th<p>

Now here's something I never thought I'd say about working for Tobe: today was… fun. It was a lot of fun, actually. And it all started this morning, when we woke up to something other than a gong.

"YYEESSSSS!" We heard Tobe shout. I cracked my sleepy eyes open to see him jumping for joy in the middle of the room, holding a letter and a small slip of paper. Everyone immediately got down to see what was going on.

"Master," Quan said, "what are you so excited about?"

Tobe was smiling and nearly laughing while he spoke. "Do you guys remember when we signed up for that raffle last month?"

"The one from the dollar store?" Jin confirmed.

"Yep! And guess who won FIRST PRIZE?"

"We WON?" Daero yelled.

"That's right!" Tobe practically squealed. "We won! One. _Thousand!_"

Everyone yelped with excitement, joining Tobe in his victory dance. I even risked crying out "Woo-HOO!" in all the commotion.

"So Master, what are we going to do now?" Daero asked.

"We're going to DISNEYLAND!" Odomé joked. Jin hit him lightly on the shoulder. Those two reminded me of Abyo and myself, and of our friendly library. Wait, I meant rivalry! (Darn it, how did I write "library"?)

Tobe smiled and shook his head. "Actually, I was thinking about it, and I think I know just the thing." He paused for dramatic effect. "We're going shopping!"

"EEK!" shrieked Quan, immediately covering his mouth when everyone started staring at him.

"Did you really just say 'eek'?" Kuda said. Quan looked around, embarrassed, and said nothing.

"But anyway," continued Tobe, "I was thinking we could go over to the market and browse some of their stuff. Money's no object, as you could guess," he said, waving his check around. Then his eyes dropped to a more serious expression. "But that doesn't mean you can buy anything like a hundred dollar sword or diamond earrings."

The sword comment was obviously directed at Kuda, but which of us did he think would want earrings? I got my answer when Odomé spoke up, saying, "I'd only need the one." He turned his head so that I saw he had one ear pierced.

"Well, what are we still standing around for?" Quan exclaimed. "We have a thousand dollars to spend! Let's get going!"

"But wait," Jin said. "Do you really think we'll be welcome in the market? Especially dressed like _this?_" He pointed to their (_our_) black ninja suits.

"Yeah, you're right!" Daero agreed. "Can we just wear normal clothes?"

"Oh, can we Master? Please?" Quan pleaded.

A couple other ninjas joined him in a chorus of "please"s, and Tobe finally had to give in. "Oh, alright!" he said. "But don't think that means you get out of your duties! If I need you to do anything, you're still my ninjas," he warned us. We all nodded; I hadn't expected any less from Tobe.

The others only took a little while to choose their clothes. Quan had a yellow shirt with what looked like gym shorts. Daero had jean shorts and a T-shirt with an anime character on it (I'm not sure who). Jin wore a grayish samurai robe; I wondered why he had that in the first place. Odomé had jeans and an orange shirt with a record on it, which said "Old School" around the top. Kuda had an all-black shirt and pants, and still wore his ninja headband with the outfit (almost like he was still wearing his suit). Even Tobe dressed down for the trip, choosing a black T-shirt with a lightning bolt and dark jeans.

I hadn't brought any other clothes with me; it never occurred to me I would need anything but the ninja outfit to wear. Jin, of all people, took pity on me and lent me a plain blue shirt and jeans. I also chose to wear my hair down again; very few people had seen me that way, and only my closest friends would be able to recognize me.

Sorry I took so long just to describe the clothes; I just thought it could help you picture us better.

We wasted no time, heading straight to the marketplace. We found a machine to get Tobe's check cashed and went in the first store we saw: a large building that was nearly packed with clothes.

Tobe led us all through the first set of automatic doors, but still insisted on being the first one inside the actual store. He backed up a bit, then ran up and leapt through the doors, doing a flip in the air before landing… and then sliding forward on the newly polished floor, crashing into a display up front. A nervous-looking employee tiptoed up and set down a "Wet Floor" sign.

We snickered for a moment before bursting out laughing. Tobe, after glaring at us for a moment, couldn't resist the humor of the situation. Even the employee (Kara, by her name tag) laughed quietly.

We all split into groups to browse the store. Tobe got Jin and Kuda, and made Quan, Daero, and Odomé come with me. At least he knew which of them to keep apart.

At first, I let Odomé choose which sections we'd go to. That was a mistake. He ended up leading us to the dress department, so that he could flirt with some of the girls. At one point, we saw Ring-Ring wearing a tight, hot pink dress, asking random shoppers what they thought of it. She and Odomé actually seemed to like each other a lot. However, I ended up dragging him off in the middle of their conversation; I spotted Pucca and Ching shopping in the next aisle.

Next, Daero wanted to check out graphic tees. He forced me to try on a bunch of them; he kept saying, "If you want to try this on, don't say anything." After about the fifth time, I had to bite my lip to stop from saying, "Would punching you count as saying something?" Eventually, though, Quan stuck up for me and made him stop. Daero agreed to buy a couple of shirts for me that he thought had looked good, including a black and yellow Pikachu shirt. I just rolled my eyes.

Quan and I both led them to a small section in the back, dedicated to games rather than clothes. We had to avoid the video games; Tobe obviously didn't have a console. It was fun looking around and trying out weird stuff like a duck whistle or voice-changing megaphone. In the end, we decided on the game "Apples to Apples". If you haven't heard of it, you have to choose a card that best matches a certain theme.

After we had browsed all we wanted, we met Tobe up front. Jin had a casual pair of red jeans and black shirt, and Kuda, as odd as it sounds, had a black tuxedo. Tobe had a small basket filled with T shirts, just like Daero's.

After we'd checked out, we visited a bunch of small stands around the market. Kuda bought a whole bunch of throwing knives from one weapon stand, and I got a really cool-

Oh no!

I can't believe it!

I took a short look around inside, and it turns out that I left the sword in the market! I bought a really cool silver-handled sword with a dragon emblem. I can't believe I forgot it! And for what? I saw Pucca coming and I ran! Ugh, I swear, this is the most idiotic mistake I've ever made. And I was really looking forward to using that!

*sigh* I guess it can't be helped at this point. I'll have to explain to Tobe tomorrow. I'll just give you a quick recap of everything that happened.

Daero bought a stack of comic books at this one cart, including a "Teen Titans" one in a plastic bag that he said was a rare issue. Quan bought a pair of those sneakers with toes; he said they were great for running, and that it felt like you weren't even wearing shoes. Taking his word for it, I bought some too; I think I've mentioned my contempt for tennis shoes before.

Jin got a scythe. It had a huge curved blade and leaf-like patterns on the hilt, and the pommel seemed to be an emerald. Odomé did end up buying a new earring, except it was a dark red ruby instead of his current gold. Finally, Tobe splurged and bought a Wii to go with a new game he saw. Everyone freaked out in excitement. I didn't move much; I've always been horrible at video games whenever I go to play them at Abyo's.

I just can't believe I lost my sword. It was the only thing I got myself today and I just…

Hold on. I see someone in the distance. They're coming towards me… be back in a minute.

…

I'm back now, and I can hardly stop smiling. It was Pucca.

At first I turned around to run inside, but then I noticed what she had in her hand. It was a plastic shopping bag, and guess what was sticking out the side?

My mouth dropped when I saw it and I sighed in relief. She handed me the bag, smiling softly, as if to say, "You left this."

I was so overjoyed that I dropped the bag and hugged her. (I know, that'll probably give her the wrong idea in the long run, but I don't care. She deserved it.

After a minute, I tried to pull away, but she held me fast. I groaned just as she did her trademark giggle. Finally she let me go. I smiled at her, thinking, _thank you SO much._

She smiled back, not widely like she usually does, but softly and sweetly. I picked up the sword, and was just about to go inside, when (you guessed it) she kissed me on the cheek and ran off.

I'm glad she cares so much about me. Even if it's not the same way I care for her. I know if there's one person I can always count on in times like this, Pucca will be there for me.

There was just a crash from inside. I peeked in and saw that the others were still awake, playing on the new Wii. Quan had apparently thrown the remote while bowling and it hit Tobe, who had been in bed asleep, in the head. I'd better go in and help him out.

Until tomorrow. And just so that I'll believe it myself, I'll say it once more: I'm glad I have a friend like Pucca.

Garu

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><p><strong>Yay! It's done! Wow, it's already been five days? I only have two chapters left! :( But, oh well, at least this was a good chapter. Right?<strong>

**Well, I'd better post this before it isn't today anymore. Remember to REVIEW! 3**


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